


Mute~Byler

by ultra_violett



Category: Stranger Things - Fandom
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Child Abuse, Depression, Eating Disorders, Homophobic Language, M/M, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Underage Drinking, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 17,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22928800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultra_violett/pseuds/ultra_violett
Summary: Will Byers was always told he was annoying by his father, so one day he decided to just, not talk. He figured if talking was causing all the problems, not talking would solve them. That's not the case, though.Tags contain trigger warnings!
Relationships: Beverly Marsh/Ben Hanscom, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Jane Hopper/Max Mayfield, Lucas Sinclair/Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair/Will Byers, Mike Hanlon/Bill Denbrough/Stan Uris, Mike Wheeler/Jane Hopper, Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, Will Byers/Richie Tozier
Comments: 71
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

*Mike's POV*

  
I sit in class, listening to Mr. Clark explain the human brain to us. Dustin sits on one side of me, Jane on the other side. Max sits behind me with Lucas behind Dustin. Max keeps poking me in the back and I keep telling her to knock it off, but she won't. There's someone in the front of the class tapping their pencil on their desk, and it's seriously annoying.

  
The AC generator hums in the background, but we really don't even need it because it's the middle of winter. Like there's seriously snow outside but clearly the school doesn't care.

  
The classroom door opens abruptly, making Mr. Clark and everyone else stop what they're doing and turn to look at it. The principal walks in, a boy by his side. The boy has a bowl cut and is wearing a red striped long sleeve shirt with a pair of jeans. He looks like a nerd. Maybe he'll want to join the party. We really need a cleric, after all.

  
The principal walks over to Mr. Clark, whispering something to him. He nods and the principal leaves. "Class, this is Will Byers. He just moved here from New York. Be nice to him please." Everybody's eyes are on Will, and his cheeks are crimson. He must have like anxiety or something.

  
"You can take a seat over there by Max." Mr. Clark states, pointing to Max. I can't help but think that's unfair that the boy didn't have to talk. We all had to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the year, and when there's a new student Mr. Clark always makes them introduce themselves.

  
Mr. Clark goes back to his rambling and Will takes a seat next to Max, staring at his desk the whole class. He must be shy or something. Whatever it is, there's definitely something wrong in his head.

  
After class we go to lunch. I can't help but wonder why Will came into school so late in the day. We sit at our regular table. The one right in the back of the cafeteria, next to the trashcans. The others make banter and I look up from my lunch to see Will walking into the cafeteria. Everybody watches him as he walks through the line and then tries to find a table. I can't help but feel bad for him.

  
Jane sighs and stands up, waving him over. "What are you doing? We don't even know him!" Lucas shouts, only to be ignored. Will catches sight of her hand and stumbles over. "Hi! You can sit down if you want." Jane tells him. He nods and sits on the other side of me. Jane slips her hand into mine when she sits down again. "So, Will. This is Max, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and I'm Jane." She introduces. He nods and starts to eat his food.

  
We all shoot each other confused glances. Why the hell isn't he talking? "So, Will, do you have any siblings?" Dustin awkwardly asks. Will nods. "Okay, how many?" He holds up one finger, not looking up from his food. "Um, what's your favorite movie?" He doesn't answer, but takes out a notebook, writing in it then passing it to Lucas, who asked the question.

  
"He says Ghostbusters." Lucas announces, giving the notebook back to Will. He happily takes it, placing it next to his lunch tray. We all stare at him, trying to understand him. He doesn't talk. What's wrong with him? Does he have some sort of disorder or something?

  
He looks up and notices we're all staring at him. Sighing, he picks up his pencil and writes something on the notebook, passing it to me. He has surprisingly neat handwriting. The piece of paper says:

  
_**I'm mute, by choice though. I don't have any speaking disorders or anything.** _

  
I read it and pass it to Jane, who reads it and passes it to Max. They pass it around before finally handing it back to Will. It makes a little more sense now, but still, why would someone choose not to talk?

  
*Will's POV*

  
I'm sitting in lunch, eating my food peacefully. I can sense them staring at me and sigh. I grab my notebook, writing that I'm mute by choice, and that's why I don't talk, before passing it to the boy I understand to be Mike.

  
He reads it and they pass it around the table before it lands back at me. I close the notebook, putting it my backpack as well as my pencil, and get up, throwing away my lunch. I wave to them, and walk away. I was kind of tired of being in that loud lunchroom.

  
I never liked loud noises, but I disliked them even more when my father started yelling at me. He did it for dumb reasons, but when he found out I was gay, it got worse. He started hitting me, yelling even more slurs at me, starving me. I starting cutting myself. And that was when my depression started. I was only thirteen at the time, and over the past three years it had gotten worse. Eventually my mom got tired of it and divorced him, dragging us all the way back to her hometown.  
She hopes that being here might help me, but I don't know. I can already tell this town is homophobic, just because it's a small town. Most small towns are. I mean, it is the 90's, but even New York was a little homophobic. But this place is more homophobic.

  
It doesn't help that I can still remember the day my father walked in on me kissing another boy perfectly. I can remember every detail.

  
*Flashback*

  
_I was sitting on my bed in my room. My best friend, Tyler, was sitting next to me. I had had a crush on him since the fourth grade, but was always too afraid to tell him. We were just casually doing our homework, occasionally telling a joke or pushing the other lightly, playfully. He turned to me, a look in his eyes that I had never seen before. "Will, I need to tell you something. It's okay if you don't want to be my friend anymore after this, but I really hope you do." I nod. "What is it, Tyler?" I was a little concerned. He's not usually this serious._

  
_He takes a deep breath, and I grab his hand. It was something we did often. With my dad, my anxiety was really bad, and holding peoples hands always helped. He looked at our hands and his eyes started to tear up a little. "P-Promise that you'll always be my friend?" I nod. "Of course. I won't ever abandon you." A tear rolls down his cheek and he looks at me._

  
_He doesn't say anything, just leans in a little. I lean in as well, my eyes fluttering shut slowly. I soon feel his lips touch mine. I kiss him back, and he moves his hands to cup my cheeks. I place my hands around his neck, deepening the kiss._

  
_A loud slam makes us abruptly pull apart. There, standing in the doorway, is my dad. He had a whiskey bottle in his hand, and he was fuming. "Get this little fag out of here, now." I nod frantically, and so does Tyler. He stands quickly, throwing his things in his bag, running out of my bedroom. I hear the front door squeak open and then slam shut._

  
_Dad walks into my room and shuts the door calmly. Too calmly. "You little fag! You fags deserve to burn in hell!" He slaps me. "And you know what's worse than a fag?" I shake my head. "An annoying fag. Maybe if you shut the fuck up, I could tolerate you a little more." Tears prick my eyes as he throws me to the ground and kicks me in the ribs, hard. He kicks me a few more times, definitely leaving bruises. "I will not tolerate a fag in my house." He states, walking out and leaving me on my bedroom floor._

  
_I lay there for probably hours before finally getting up. My ribs ached and my cheek stung from where he slapped me. I walk out of my room and into the bathroom across the hall, locking the door behind me. I open the mirror cabinet, revealing the various pills stored there. Grabbing a bottle, I twist it open, pouring them into my hand. I stare at them for a few minutes before dumping them back into the bottle and placing the bottle back behind the mirror. I just tried to kill myself. And I almost went through with it._

  
*Flashback over*

  
That was the first time my dad had hit me, the last day I had spoken, and the day I almost killed myself.


	2. Chapter 2

*Will's POV*

  
After school I bike home, watching everyone else drive away in the cars they got for their sixteenth birthday. I wish I had a car, but mom can't afford it. I'm not affected too much by it. We never had a lot of money, but since mom left dad it's been worse. At least we have money and a house though. That's the least I can ask for. I've never really been someone to ask for a lot.

  
I get a lot of stares from people, I mean, you don't usually see a high schooler biking to and from school. I'm not affected too much by it, I've been stared at for as long as I can remember. Whether it be the kids in school whispering about me being gay, or me actually being confirmed as being gay after my dad drunkenly announced it to the whole school. Not the best day for me.

  
*Flashback* (There's going to be a lot of flashbacks but you gotta understand why Will is the way he is I'm sorry)

  
_I had just gotten off my bike at school. I chain it up quickly and walk into the school. I need to find Tyler and give him the apology note I wrote for him. I find him and start to make my way over to him, but he turns his head and sees me. His eyes widen and he quickly breaks into a sprint, running the opposite direction. I follow after him, trying to keep up. Here's the thing though, I've never been athletic. Tyler was in track, and I wasn't. He had won a lot of races._   
_My point here being, he was really fast, and there was no way I could run nearly as fast as him. He turned a corner, and when I turned it, he was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, I walk to my locker. His was right next to mine, so I take the note out of my pocket and slide it into his locker. I put my backpack in my backpack and get my books out for the day._

  
_After school, I walk out the doors and to my bike. I start to unchain it when my dad storms past me, bumping me in the shoulder. He walks over to the steps of the school and stops, turning to face everyone. "Everyone listen up!" He yells, and everyone turns to look at him. "My son, Will Byers, is a little fag, you got that? A fag." He announces. Tears roll down my face, and he has an amused look on his face. Everyone turns to look at me._

  
_The bullying just got worse after that day. I would come home with bruises, cuts, even broken bones, only to get even more injured by my father, who showed no remorse. I ended up with a lot of broken bones, ribs mainly. People really liked to kick me in the sides._

  
*Flashback over*

  
I soon get to my house, dropping my bike in the yard and opening the door. Mom always keeps it unlocked. I don't know why, but she does. She's sitting in the living room, watching tv. "How was school?" She asks, but soon realizes her mistake. She's still not really used to me not talking, even though it's been three years.  
"Was school good?" I nod. "Make and friends?" I shrug. She gets up and walks over to me. "Well, it was only your first day. I'm sure you'll make some friends." I shrug. She smiles at me and I reciprocate it before walking down the hall and into my bedroom. We lived in a little two bedroom house, because it was just me and her.

  
I drop my backpack on my bed and take my homework out. Scanning over it, I realize it's something we did at my old school, so I already knew how to do it. I finish it quickly and put it back into my backpack to turn in tomorrow.

  
I look at the clock in my room to see it's 6:00. Mom should be done with dinner soon. "Will, dinner's ready!" Right on time. I walk out of my room and down the hallway into the kitchen. Mom has made spaghetti.

  
I sit down in my chair at the two person table. "So, are there any cute boys at school?" She asks me, smirking. Luckily for me she had always been supportive of me being gay. I smile and shrug. "Oh come on, there had to be at least one." I nod and blush a little, sticking up one finger to signify there was one. Mike.

  
"Is he one of your friends?" I nod. "What's his name?" She hands me a pen. "Sorry, I'm out of paper." I shrug and grab her hand, writing his name. "Mike, huh? What's he like?" I shrug.

  
"Well, maybe you can figure it out, you'll be spending a lot of time together since you're friends. Does he have a girlfriend?" I nod. "It's okay, you'll find someone Will, don't worry." I shrug and nod, going back to eat. She sends me a reassuring smile, and I reciprocate. She goes back to eating as well.

  
After dinner I walk into my room, picking out some pajamas and changing into them. I lay on my bed, pulling the cover over me and sighing. I grip my elephant stuffed animal tightly to my chest. Slowly, my eyes drift shut and I fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

*Mike's POV*

  
I wake up and go over to my closet, picking out a blue t-shirt and some jeans. I shower and get dressed, making sure not to dry my hair with a towel, because if I do it with frizz up really bad. Like, really bad .

  
I run downstairs and quickly eat breakfast before walking out the door and getting into my car. I drive to Jane's to pick her up, because her dad won't get her a car, even though she has her license. He swears that she's going to crash it or something.

  
On the way to school, I pass Will. He's on a bike. It kind of surprises me, to be totally honest. Most people my age avoid riding a bike to school at all costs. If they can't drive or don't have a car, they carpool or walk.

  
He's wearing a sweater today, unsurprisingly. It's really cold outside, like I said yesterday, there's snow. But he's not wearing a coat, which slightly concerns me. He's going to freeze if he doesn't wear a coat.

  
We arrive at school and I park the car, taking the key out of the ignition. Jane kisses me on the cheek and waves bye to me before getting out and walking to the school. I quickly get out and lock the doors, following after her.

  
I pass the bike rack and see Will's is the only one there, and Troy and his goons are going over to it. Shit, they're probably gonna destroy it. They break the chain and run off with the bike to Troy's truck. God knows what they're gonna do with it now. I try to stop them but Jane interferes, pulling me away. "Are you insane? They're gonna hurt you!" She exclaims, pulling me to the entrance of the school. The last thing I see before I'm pulled inside is them loading the bike into the bed of the truck.

  
Jane pulls me over to her locker before dropping my hand. "I was trying to get Will's bike from them." I state. She scoffs and turns to her locker, unlocking it. "Why? He's not worth getting hurt." I turn to her, confusion taking over. "What? You were literally inviting him to sit with us yesterday." She slams her locker door, turning to me. "Well that was before I heard he was a little fag." She states, turning away and stomping off to her class.

  
I stand by her locker for a few minutes, speechless. What happened to her? She never used to be homophobic, in fact, she protested for gay rights. I sigh and slink off to my locker.

  
*Will's POV* (Back to this morning)

I get up from my bed, making it quickly before walking over to my closet. I get out a sweater and a pair of jeans, taking a quick shower and throwing them on. Mom already left for work, so I quickly make myself some eggs and bacon, throwing them on a plate and eating them. I wash all the dishes I dirtied up while making breakfast, as well as the ones from last night. I know I don't need to, but I try to help mom as much as I can.

  
I throw my shoes on and sling my backpack over my shoulder. I close and lock the door behind me and walk down the steps and to my bike. On the way to school, a car passes me and I swear I see Mike behind the wheel. I don't dwell on it much though because it could be anyone and I'm sure my eyes are just playing tricks on me.

  
When I get to school I chain my bike up and walk inside quickly, trying to ignore the weird/disgusted looks I'm getting from everybody. I'm guessing rumors have already started spreading about me, which would be just my luck. I've only been here a day and there's already rumors about me.

  
Once I enter the school I walk over to my locker, unlocking it and getting out the books I need for my first class, replacing them with my backpack. A girl bumps into my shoulder and yells at me "Watch where you're going, fag!" I cringe at the word. So that word is going to haunt me here, too.

  
I slam my locker shut, quickly making my way to first period and sitting down. Everybody else files in as well, a lot of them shooting me disgusted glances. Mike walks in and sits next to me. Just my luck, he's in every single one of my classes. Unlike everybody else, though, he doesn't look disgusted when he looks at me. He looks at me the same way he did yesterday.

  
I get my things out for class and the teacher walks in, quickly taking attendance. "Will Byers?" I raise my hand and she calls my name again. Everybody looks at me, and she looks up from her paper. A glint of anger shows in her eyes. "Next time, speak up, okay Mr.Byers." I nod and that seems to make her angrier, but she doesn't comment, just marks that I'm here on her paper and continues roll call.

  
Halfway through class, while the teacher is turned to the board, Mike reaches over and drops a paper on my desk. I pick it up and unfold it, reading his scratchy, unneat handwriting.

  
_**Ar** **e the rumors true? Are you actually gay?** _

  
Oh my God, he's actually an idiot. He thinks I would actually tell him that I'm gay. I just met him yesterday. I sigh and pick up my pencil, writing a response in neat cursive.

  
_**Like I would tell you, we just met yesterday.** _

  
I refold it and when the teacher isn't looking, pass it to him. He writes something and hands it back. I unfold it and read his sloppy attempt at cursive. I guess he's trying to impress me, not like he has to, I already kind of like him.

  
**_It's okay if you are._ **

  
He's trying to reassure me, trying to lure me into a false sense of safety so I'll tell him. I'm not falling for that again, Tyler already did that to me. Yeah, that's right, he didn't actually like me, he's just a really good actor.

  
I'm not gay, now stop pressuring me. End of conversation before we get caught.

  
I fold the note and hand it to him. He reads it and sends me an unbelieving look, but doesn't press on it, just tucks the note into his pocket.

  
On the way out of class, I notice him take it out of his pocket and throw it away. I'm guessing the teacher is really strict about getting up during her class or something or he would have just gotten up and thrown it away during class.


	4. Chapter 4

*Will's POV*  
Lunch time comes around and I go through the lunch line quickly. All day I had been getting judgemental looks from people, and everybody was staying away from me. Mainly boys. I can't believe they do all this just because someone is gay here. It's a bit dramatic, I think. It's as though I'm just going to walk up to a guy and start sucking his dick right in the middle of the hallway or something.

  
I sit down where I was sitting yesterday, next to Mike. He leans over and whispers in my ear "Seriously, Will. It's okay if you're gay." I go to respond but he's pulled away from the table by Jane before I can.

  
Dustin, Lucas, and Max soon join me at the table. "Are the rumors true?" Lucas asks. Max smacks him in the arm. "You can't just ask him that, Lucas! They probably aren't, but even if they are, I doubt he's comfortable talking about them." She turns to me. "Just ignore him, you don't have to answer the question, Will."  
I shake my head and take out my notebook and pencil. I quickly but neatly write "I'm not gay." In cursive and pass it to Max who the other two boys crowd around to see what I wrote. She passes it back once they're done and smiles at me. "Well, it's okay if you are, okay? Dustin is." She points to Dustin and he smiles at me. I smile back. "And I'm bi, Max is pan as well." Lucas states. I smile at him as well.

  
After lunch we all bid our goodbyes to each other and make our way to our next class. Dustin walks with me because he's in my next class. We get there and sit in our seats, Mike's already there. Jane is there as well, but she looks... sad. That's new because I haven't seen her sad and she just seems like a generally happy person.

  
I take out my notebook, quickly ripping out a piece of paper before the teacher starts his teaching, and write a quickly on it.

  
_**What happened to Jane? Why is she so sad?** _

  
I quickly fold it and place it on Mike's desk, tapping him on the shoulder so he'll notice. He looks over at me and I gesture to his desk. He looks at it and picks up the note, unfolding it and reading it. He picks up his pencil and writes on it, passing it back to me.

  
_**We broke up** _

  
I nod and send him a sympathetic smile. He doesn't seem too fazed by the breakup though. He just shrugs and gestures for the paper back. I hand it back to him and he writes something on it, passing it back to me. The bell rings for class and I shove the note in my pocket before the teacher can see it.

  
*Time skip*

  
After school I go outside to get my bike, but it's not there. The broken chain is laying on the ground but the bike is gone. A boy with shaggy hair walks over to me, grabbing me by the backpack swiftly. "You're coming with me, fag." He states, dragging me over to his truck. "I stole your bike, by the way. Ran it over a few times."  
No, no, no! This can't be happening! That bike is the only way for me to be able to go places, and I can't walk everywhere right now, it's too cold. Especially because I don't have a coat.

  
He opens the back door on his truck, going to shove me in, but gets roughly pushed away from me. "Stay away from him, Troy!" I look over, and see it's Mike. Why is he here, helping me? He's going to get hurt, and he doesn't deserve it. I don't deserve to be saved by him either. "Saving your little boyfriend, huh, Wheeler?" Troy comments.

  
Troy pushes him back, and the shoving match continues until Troy punches Mike. He gets punched a few more times, throwing a few himself, but only successfully hitting troy once, before I can finally get Mike away from Troy.

  
Troy shoots Mike one last glance before jumping in his trunk. Still breathing a little heavy, Mike turns to me. "You okay?" I nod and he smiles. "Good. C'mon." He gestures me over to his car and starts to walk that way, me in tow. We get in and he turns to me. "Where do you live?" I take out my notebook, quickly scrawling down my address and the directions to get there before giving it to him.

  
He takes it and reads it. "Oh, I know where this is!" He starts the car and I buckle up quickly. He does as well and pulls out of the parking space and we started the drive to my house.

  
When we get there I start to get out but remember he's injured. I gesture for him to follow. "What?" I roll my eyes and open my notebook, writing for him to come with me and quickly show it to him. He nods, confused, and takes the key out of the ignition before getting out.

  
I grab his wrist and drag him with me into the house. Mom is there, sitting in the living room as usual. She turns when she hears the door open. "Hey, Will! How was school?" I give her a thumbs up and try to keep walking but she stops me again. "Who is this?" She gestures to Mike. "Mike Wheeler, I'm a friend of Will's." She nods and he outstretches his hand to shake. They shake hands. "Okay, well, have fun in there!" She smiles and sits back down at the couch, continuing to watch TV.  
I take Mike into the bathroom and sit him on the toilet seat, looking for the medical supplies. I open the medicine cabinet mirror thing and grab the tiny first aid kit, closing the mirror and turning to him. I quickly fix the few cuts he got and clean his bloody nose. I'm throwing away the wrappers for the bandages when he speaks. "Thanks for helping me." I nod and smile at him, reassuring him without words that it was no problem.

  
We go to my room and hang out for a bit, talking. Obviously not actually talking on my part, but I write things down. "Kids, dinner!" I get up and gesture for Mike to follow. We go into the kitchen to see mom has made lasagna. "I hope this is okay, Mike." He shakes his head and smiles. "It's fine, Mrs.Byers." She sits down at the table, us following. "Please, call me Joyce." He nods and we eat quickly.

  
Once we're done eating Mike leaves and I go back to my room. Luckily I didn't have any homework today. I soon remember the note from this morning Mike had given me. I take it out of my pocket and unwrap it to read it.

  
Just in case you ever decide to talk, my number is xxx-xxxx

  
Smiling, I place the note on my desk and grab some pajamas and quickly change. There's a knock on my door and I open it. Mom is standing there, smiling. "So, that was Mike?" She asks, sitting on my bed. I roll my eyes but nod. "He's cute, and nice! You guys are perfect for each other!" I try to fight my smile, but fail. "I see that smile! And that blush! I'm being serious Will, you guys would be so cute together."

  
Whatever you say, mom. She smiles at me. "I know, you don't know if he's gay, but you never know! Just try, okay?" I nod and she kisses me on the head. "Sleep tight, kiddo." She leaves, closing the door behind her. I stare at the door for a minute before shutting off the lights and laying down, clutching my elephant stuffed animal to my chest and falling into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

*Will's POV*

*Two weeks later*

I get dressed into the same thing I always wear, a sweater and jeans. I throw on my shoes and backpack, walking out the door. Sighing, I start my walk to school in the cold. I've been having to do this for the past week, and it's getting annoying.

By the time I'm at school, I can barely feel my feet and I had lost feeling in my hands about ten minutes ago. My cheeks and nose are probably red from the cold too. I quickly walk inside and go to my locker, getting the things I need for homeroom and making my way there. When I get there I sit in my seat, Mike soon joining me.

"Will, are you okay? You look really cold." I turn to him and nod, not very convincingly. He rolls his eyes. "You don't need to lie, Will. Don't you have a coat? Or gloves? Or a hat or boots?" I shake my head. "Well, from now on I'm driving you to and from school, and there's nothing you can do about it." I sigh and nod, defeated. I hate getting things from people, I feel like a charity case.

Lunch comes around and I sit with the others, as usual. Jane isn't here, though. The others don't seem to care, so I don't mention it. "Guess who's single as of second period." Lucas states, sitting down. Dustin pats him on the shoulder. "Damn, that's rough." Lucas shrugs. "Meh, I don't really care, I like someone else."

Mike sits down, Max following. "Seems like Max does too," Dustin whispers, watching as Max slips her hand into Mike's. My heart sinks a little. I can't believe I ever thought I could have a chance with him. "So, Will, wanna go to the arcade with me tomorrow since it's Saturday?" Lucas asks me. I nod and he smiles. I might as well try to move on. I've only known him for a week, and I shouldn't be trying to go after someone who isn't interested.

After school Mike drives me home, as he said he would, but I had to sit in the back and watch him and Max being all lovey dovey with each other. It was kind of annoying, to be honest. He drops me off, not even saying goodbye before driving away. Probably to go make out with Max or something. I roll my eyes and sigh, walking inside.

Mom's standing there when I close the door. "Where's your bike, Will? It went missing two weeks ago." I look down, ashamed. I grab my notebook and write what happened in it, handing it to her. She sighs and hands it back to me. "Why didn't you tell me?" _ I didn't want to bother you _ , I write.

"Well, it looks like you have someone to drive you everywhere, so it shouldn't be a big deal right now, right?" I nod and she smiles, petting my hair. "Okay, now go do your homework, okay?" I nod and she kisses my head, letting me go to my room. I quickly do my homework and eat dinner before going to bed that night. Not going to lie, I'm kind of excited to hang out with Lucas tomorrow. I didn't know if this was a date or not, but I didn't care what it was, I'm excited.

*The next day*

I get dressed quickly. Lucas had called mom yesterday, telling her we were going to hang out about one. Currently, it's 12:30. I walk out into the living room. Mom's here today, she gets weekends off. "So, is this a date?" I shrug. "Well, if it is, I would like to meet him if you guys start dating, okay?" I nod and we hang out in the living room, watching TV until there's a knock at the front door.

I get up and answer it. Lucas is standing there, fumbling with his hands nervously. "Hey, Will! You ready?" I nod and he moves out of the way. "Well then, your chariot awaits. I giggle, and follow him to his car. He opens the passenger door for me and I get in. He gets in as well and we drive to the arcade. The ride was fairly quiet, I mean, we can't really keep up a conversation in the car because he can't constantly look away from the road to see whatever response I've written down.

We get there and make our way to our favorite game, Dig Dug. The high score belonged to someone named MadMax. He points at it. "That's Max, if you couldn't tell." I nod. "Well, lets start trying to beat her score, yeah?" I nod and we start to play.

*Time skip*

After being there until the arcade closes and we're kicked out, Lucas drives me back to my house. He walks to the front door with me. "I had fun today, Will." I smile. "Did you have fun too?" I nod and he smiles, moving closer. He leans in, and so do I, and soon, our lips are touching. His lips are soft, a little chapped, but soft.

We pull away and he smiles again. "See you on Monday." He chuckles nervously and waves. I nod and wave back, smiling. Once he's driven away, I enter the house. Mom is yet again in the way when I enter. "You guys kissed! So it was a date!" I nod and smile bashfully, and she hugs me tightly. "Will has a boyfriend! Will has a boyfriend!" She sings, letting go. I roll my eyes playfully and walk to my room. "I'm proud of you!" She yells at me, making me smile.

I change into some pajamas, turn off the lights and lay down. Images of the arcade and Lucas swim through my mind as I slowly drift off, dreaming dreams of holding hands with Lucas and kissing Lucas's soft lips for eternity.


	6. Chapter 6

*Will's POV*

On Monday Lucas picks me up and takes me to school. We held hands on the way there, and it felt a little weird, but I just figured it's because I'm not used to relationships and stuff. Are we even in a relationship? He didn't ask me to be his boyfriend.

We get to school and get out of the car, walking up to the doors. We obviously aren't holding hands anymore, I'm not out to anyone here except for Lucas. And we would get bullied really badly if anyone here knew we were gay. Mainly me. Lucas is a bit more popular than me, and he's had a girlfriend before, so he probably wouldn't be bullied as bad, but he still would.

We get to my locker and he makes sure nobody is looking before kissing me on the cheek. "See you later, babe." He says, walking away. I wave but doubt he notices. I feel kind of like he doesn't like me but I don't know. I don't know anything about relationships. I've only been in one before, with a girl.

Back in New York, I was 14. She was popular and only doing it for a dare, and I was only doing it to try to prove I wasn't gay. It didn't work out so well, though. We kissed and I told her I loved her after a few weeks, to really try to sell it, (Obviously I didn't verbally tell her, I wrote her a note confessing my "undying love" for her.) and the next day she broke up with me. It didn't make me cry or anything like she wanted, so she called me lame. Like I haven't been called worse.

I get my things for homeroom and make my way there, sitting in my seat once I'm there. The teacher doesn't like me very much because I don't talk, but she kinda has to get over it. Mike is already there when I sit down, and he leans towards me. "I heard you went out with Lucas Saturday, I thought you weren't gay?" I shrug. "I wish you would've told me you were, but I'm glad you're happy with Lucas." I smile at him and the bell rings, signaling the beginning of class.

A few hours later I'm sitting in the only class I have with all of my friends, including Jane. I try my best to ignore the death glare she's throwing at me the whole time, but it's difficult. I can feel her eyes burning into me. And if looks could kill, I would've died as soon as I entered that classroom. She's been doing that ever since Mike broke up with her, as if I had anything to do with it. Eventually, Lucas notices and gets her to knock it off.

The bell for lunch rings and everyone springs out of their seats to get to the cafeteria. I get up and grab my things, lagging after everyone. I don't want to get swept up in the stampede of students, it always ends out badly when I do.

I go to my locker and drop my things off before going to the cafeteria, getting my lunch, and sitting down with the others. Today, though, I sit next to Lucas. Mike seems a little sad when I sit down next to Lucas, but I pay no mind to it.

"Hey, babe." Lucas says as I sit down. I blush a little, embarrassed. I don't want anybody other than our friends to hear, or else they'll know. Luckily it's so loud in here and Lucas says it quiet enough that nobody hears.

"So it was a date?" Max asks as soon as I sit down. I nod and she smiles. "Cool. I'm glad you found someone that makes you happy. So is Mike, isn't that right?" He smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. It's as though he doesn't want Lucas and I to be together, but it's not like he's gay, and even if he was, he didn't ask me out or anything, so it's his loss.

"Okay, did you guys hear about Claire's party this weekend?" Max asks, drawing my attention away from Mike. I shake my head. "Well, who's going?" I shake my head, eyes widening. Parties never go well, especially for someone like me. "I'm not going, sorry Max." Dustin states, not looking up from his chocolate pudding. She shrugs. "Fine, you two be little losers. What about you, Lucas?" She says it in a playful way, but it still kind of stings.

Mike seems to notice my hurt and smiles at me, before realizing that Max implied he was going to this party. "Max, I'm not going." He states, alarm in his tone. She poutes a little. "Please?" She asks, giving him puppy dog eyes and drawing out the 'E'. He sighes and nods. "Fine, fine." She cheers and turns back to Lucas. "So, you going?" He nods. "Hell yeah! What's high school without a party or two?" She chuckles. "Tell that to your boyfriend." She says pointing at me.

Lucas turns to me. "C'mon, Will. It'll be fun! I promise! And if it isn't, I'll take you out to a movie and dinner or something. Someplace fancy too." I sigh, but nod hesitantly. He cheers and hugs me. "I promise you're going to have so much fun, Will! It's your first party, I'll make sure you have fun. And, you can hold my hand or something the whole time so you're always with me." He reassures. I smile unsurely, but don't protest.

I'm going to fucking regret this.


	7. Chapter 7

*Mike's POV*

_ Saturday, Febuary 20, 1988  _ **(Idk if the year is correct, but I tried)**

Today is the day of the party, and I'm currently standing in my room, trying to decide what to wear. I have to leave in thirty minutes to pick Max up for the party. Sighing, I pick out a blue shirt and a pair of jeans, deciding that's good enough. I throw on my shoes and grab my car keys, walking downstairs. "Bye, mom!" I yell, opening the front door. "Bye, be careful! Don't drink or do drugs!" She yells back. I smirk. Yeah, as if I'm going to turn down any alcohol at a party.

I shut the door behind me and get in the care, pulling out of the driveway and making my way to Max's house. I get there and debat honking the horn, but decide against it because I don't know if her brother's home. He would literally kill me if I honked the horn to get her attention rather than come to the door. He might be a douchbag, but he loves her a lot, and he clearly cares about her.

I get out of the car and go up to the front door, knocking on it. As suspected, her brother answers the door. "Mike, how nice to see you." He says through gritted teeth. It's pretty obvious he can't stand me, but he tolerates me for Max's sake. "Max, your boyfriend is here!" He yells into the house. We stand there for a minute before she walks out of her room and over to us. "Hey Mike, ready?" I nod. "Remember, no drugs! That shit kills you!" Billy yells as we close the door, making Max giggle.

I open the passenger door for her, wait for her to get in, and shut it. I do it because I have to act like a gentleman just in case Billy is watching. I don't want to die today.

We get to the party and imediatly we're greeted with drunk teenagers puking in bushes, and two girls making out on the sidewalk, topless. This party started an hour ago and people here are already wasted. Max grabs my hand and we walk inside, completely oblivious about what's going to happen tonight.

*Will's POV*

It's dark outside when Lucas arrives at my house to pick me up. Mom doesn't know I'm going to a party, she just thinks I'm spending the night at Lucas' house. Which is why she made me put a condom in my pocket before I walked out the door.

Lucas honks at me, catching my attention. I smile and walk over, getting in his car. "Hey Will." I wave and he places his hand on my thigh as he pulls out of the driveway. The simple movement makes me flinch slightly, but not enough for him to notice.

I'm still not really used to people touching me in any way. I usually flinch when people move towards me or touch me, thanks to my dad. He hit me so much I can't even accept a hug from someone without flinching away. People give me a lot of weird looks because of it, but don't ask questions about it.

It's normal for me to get weird looks, people still call me a fag. I still cut myself because of it. It's the only way for me to feel better, and luckily nobody has noticed it yet. I had hoped I wouldn't get bullied anymore when I moved here, but it seems to have gotten worse. Probable because it's a small town, meaning it's a lot more homophobic than New York was.

"We're here!" Lucas exclaims, pulling me out of my thoughts. He places a reassuring hand on mine. "Whenever you want to leave, just let me know, okay?" I nod. "Okay, you ready?" I nod again and he takes his hand off mine and we exit the car. "I won't leave you, but if you want some space you can just wander off." I nod and he smiles, and we enter the house.

A girl greets us, handing us solo cups with drinks. "Hi! I'm Claire, you're Lucas, right?" He takes a sip of whatever the fuck is in the cup and smiles. "Yeah, that's me. What's in this?" She giggles. "Pure fuel." She deadpans and walks away. "Um, okay?" He takes another sip. I look in the cup to see whatever is in it is red, and probably alcohol.

"It's okay if you don't want to drink, you don't have to." Lucas reassures me. I shrug and take a sip. I had sworn off alcohol after my dad started drinking, but yolo, right? Besides, what's the harm in just drinking one? Lucas smiles at me. "Have fun, but don't drink to many or those, okay?" I nod. "Is it okay if I wander off or do you want me to stay?" I wave my hand, gesturing that he can leave if he wants. "Okay, find me if you need anything." And with that, he get swallowed up by the crowd.

I sigh and make my way into the kitchen, positioning myself so that I can see into the living room. I'm leaning against a counter, taking sips of my 'pure fuel' occasionally. Once you get used to the burning in your throat, it actually isn't too bad.

Once I'm finished with my first one, I refill my cup and down that one quickly, getting another cup of it. I start to stumble around, and I feel dizzy. I must be drunk. I stumble outside into the backyard, and see Mike sitting on the ground.

*Mike's POV* (Again)

I'm sitting in the backyard, a little tipsy, but not quite drunk yet, luckily. I'm just zoned out, staring at the ground. I needed to get away from the noise and sweaty, drunk girls trying to grind on me. I'm soon pulled out of my trace by feet coming into view. I look up and see it's Will. Before I can say anything, he plops himself on my lap. I grunt a little and try to fight a boner, but it doesn't help when he starts squirming around on my lap.

I grab his waist, stopping his movements. "Stop," My words are slightly slurred, but not too bad. He pouts and moves his hand so it's rubbing against my bottom lip. Even when he's drunk he doesn't speak, but I can see the pleading in his eyes. The want. He wants to kiss me.

I down the rest of my drink and he leans forward a little. The cup I had was full so now I'm drunk. Not tipsy anymore, full on drunk. I lean in too, and his lips ghost over mine. We sit like that for a few minutes before he finally closes the distance between us.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Just so you know, Will is going to be a total dumbass when he's drunk. That's all.**

*Mike's POV*

The kiss is a sloppy, drunk kiss, but I still enjoy it. He pulls away and I get a glimpse of his swollen lips, hair messy from me running my hands through it, pupils blown with lust. I can't fight the boner anymore and by now I'm half-hard. Will looks down and pokes it, giggling.  _ He fucking pokes it.  _ I pick him up and get up. "Don't do that." I whisper in his ear, making him giggle. That giggle is going to be the death of me.

I put him down and grab his hand, walking into the house. He follows, tripping over his own feet occasionally. I make sure to avoid Lucas and Max as I drag him upstairs and into the first bedroom I see, which is thankfully empty. He lets go of my hand and walks over to the bed, falling onto it. I sigh and lock the door, making sure no one walks in.

My boner is almost gone now, but when I sit down he crawls onto my lap again. "Don't do that." I whisper, but he either didn't hear or doesn't care, because he begins squriming around again, making my boner come back full force. I don't even try to fight it this time, he's too drunk to remember it in the morning.

He turns around and kisses me again, harder this time. This kiss is forceful, rough. He grinds against me, slowly at first. I begin to match his thrusts, making him go faster. I plop him down on the bed, and he takes of his shirt, then pants. I do the same, and can't help but notice the scars up his wrists, and even the scabbed over ones. He's been cutting himself.

He goes to take my boxers off, but I pull his hand away. "Not right now, it's not right. Neither of us are single, and you're drunk. I'm not gonna take advantage of you." He pouts, but doesn't try to remove anymore clothing. I lay down beside him, taking him in my arms. He tucks his head in the crook of my neck, and drifts off.

*Time skip*

The next morning I wake up with Will in my arms, his knee pushing my crotch painfully. I push it away, making him startle awake. He groans and sits up abruptly, clutching his head. "C'mon Will, I'll take you over to my place and give you something for that headache." He nods and takes the covers off of us, eyes widening when he sees we're in our underwear. "Don't worry, nothing happened last night. I wouldn't do that to you." He breaths out a sigh of relief and sends me a smile, thanking me.

We get up and get dressed before unlocking the door and going downstairs. There's still a few people hanging out here and there, one or two of them passed out. Lucas and Max are nowhere to be seen, they must have went home. I'm assuming Max got a ride from Lucas. We get in my car and drive to my house.

When we get there nobodies home, but there's a not on the counter from my mom, saying that she went over to Joyce's and she would be back later. Her and Joyce have been friends since the Byers moved here.

I go to the medicine cabinet in the upstairs bathroom, quickly taking out some pain reliever for Will. I give it to him, as well as a glass of water and he takes it gratefully. I go downstairs and call Lucas.

"Hey, Mike, I need to talk to you and Will. Meet me at the diner on the edge of town. Y'know, the one that has the really good pancakes." Lucas states and I hear the dial tone signifying he hung up. He sounded a bit angry, scaring me a little bit, but I shrug it off. I go upstairs and explain what's going on to Will and we go to the diner.

Lucas is already there when we arrive, sitting in a booth with Max in the corner. It's a less populated area of the diner. The diner itself isn't very populated, because it's on the edge of town. We go over and sit down. Will and I on one side and Lucas and Max on the other. They both look angry. Like really angry.

"Please explain to me why I saw my boyfriend making out with my best friend last night." Lucas demands. My eyes widen and I go into panic mode. He must've seen us in the backyard. "Lucas, we were drunk-" Max cuts me off. "Yeah, but that's no excuse! Drunk actions, sober thoughts, or some shit like that, right?" I open my mouth to respond, but can't think of anything to say. "Exactly. So we're over, don't talk to me anymore, asshole." He spits out, leaving.

Lucas looks at Will disbelievingly, and I shoot a glance at Will as well. Tears glisten in his eyes and I want so desperatly to hold him, but resist the urge. "I can't believe you. You seemed like and actually good guy, but you clearly weren't. You could have just rejected me. But instead, I;m rejecting you. We're over." He states, also leaving.

As soon as the bell rings, signifying Lucas has left, tears stream down Will's face. I hug him tightly, and he sobs into my chest. Eventually he pushes me away. He takes a pen out of his pocket (Yeah, idk why he has it either) and grabs my hand, writing something on it and then leaving.

I look at my hand, reading the four words he wrote on my palm.

_ This is your fault _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that's three chapters in one day because I'm gonna have to go visit my grandma in the hospital, and while I do that I unfortunately cannot update because she lives in a different state so I won't have my computer, and it's too difficult to update on a phone for me. Sorry for the inconvenience.


	9. Chapter 9

*Mike’s POV*

_ Monday, March 7, 1988 _

**_"It's all your fault"_ **

Those four words have been haunting me for the past month. Will has been avoiding me for the past month, and honestly I can't blame him. It technically is my fault because even though he was leaning in, he was drunk. He didn't know what he was doing. I just kissed him, no question.

Lucas and Max have been avoiding me and Will as well. Dustin is the only one who still speaks to everyone from the party, even Jane. He has always been the best at keeping the peace.

I heard that Will has a new boyfriend now, from Dustin. His name is Richie or something? I don't know. He's not in any of my classes, from what I've heard, he's in advanced classes. A real smartass.

I've also heard he's a huge interruption during class. Like, he's loud, and he always feels the need to make a joke or a smart remark. Usually in an accent. He wears super tacky Hawaiian shirts over all of his regular shirts, and huge glasses. They literally magnify his eyes. I've heard a few people actually call me Richie, but I ignore them. We must look alike or something. Like I said, I have no fucking idea who this kid is.

*Will's POV*

I'm walking through the halls, holding Richie's hand. Surprisingly, when Richie came to school, he was accepted when he came out as bi. He's also somehow super popular? I don't know how. He acts like a nerd, not like I'm complaining. I'm okay with dating a nerd. I'm a nerd.

We stop outside his class, and he lets go of my hand. "See you after class?" I nod and smile at him. He smiles back and kisses me on the cheek, waving to me as he walks through the door. I wave back and then make my way to my homeroom.

Sighing, I sit down and get ready for class. Mike sits next to me, as usual. Even though I'm dating Richie, my heart still races and I still get butterflies when I'm near Mike. Not so much Richie, though. I feel kind of bad about it, but I need to get over Mike. The only way to do that is just date other people, I guess. I'm kind of running out of options here.

Mike sighs as he sits next to me, but doesn't make any efforts to talk to me. I'm kind of grateful about it. Over the span of a month, my feelings just intensified, they didn't decrease in the slightest. I just know that if Mike were to talk to me, or even touch me, I wouldn't be able to contain myself. It's difficult enough as is.

Halfway through class, a paper falls on my desk. On the outside it says "From Mike". I unfold it and read it. It says two words. _ I'm sorry. _

I smile at him, reassuringly. He smiles back. I figure I could try to be friends again. I mean, I was drunk. It was technically my fault because I got drunk in the first place. Ever since the party I had been to like two more, but I didn't drink anymore. I was afraid of the consequenses.

I write _ It's okay, I'm not mad anymore. _ On the note and hand it back to him. He smiles, and I can tell it's genuine. He missed me too.

*Lunch Time babay*

Lunch time comes around, and rather than sit at the popular kids table, (Which consists of Richie, Beverly, Mike Hanlon, Jane, Lucas, and Max) I sit at my old table, with Mike. He looks up from his lunch when I sit down and smiles at me. I smile back. It's kind of nice to be back in my old seat. He has new friends, other than Dustin.

There is a boy with curly light brown hair, a boy with brown hair and a fanny pack, a slightly chubby boy reading a book, a boy with auburn hair swept to the side, and then there's Dustin. The four new boys introduce themselves to me. Their names are Stan, Bill, Ben, and Eddie. I recognize Ben from my history class, Stan from my art class, Bill from my math class, and Eddie from my gym class. (Even though he usually sits on the bleachers, he still has to attend the class.)

Richie soon comes over and sits next to me. "Hey Will, why are you sitting with these losers?" I shrug and continue eating. "Well why don't you come back to our table?" I shake my head. He sighs and looks over at the others, who are watching the conversation. Now that I think about it, I don't really know why I ever dated him, he treats me like a baby.

"Who's this cutie?" I shoot him a glare, but he doesn't catch it. Eddie introduces himself. Oddly enough, I could see them together. He continues to flirt with Eddie, who is obviously uncomfortable. He's not uncomfortable because he doesn't like it, it's just that I'm dating Richie and I'm right here.

I sigh and grab Richie's hand. He tries to pull it away, but I don't let him. I take a pen out of my bag and write on two words on Richie's hand before storming off and to the bathrooms.

*Mike's POV*

Will storms off, and I want to follow him, but I want to know what he wrote first. Richie reads his hand and sighs, but continues to flirt with Eddie. "What did Will write?" Ben asks. He doesn't talk much, usually just sits there and reads while observing whatever's going on around him. Richie shows him his hand.

"Damn, that's rough." Stan states, sneaking a glance at his hand. "What'd he say?" I ask. Stan looks at me. "Will broke up with him." I nod, and realize Will must be upset and that's why he stormed off. Richie rolls his eyes. "Like I care." I sigh and turn to him. "Why are you such a dickhead?" He chuckles and looks at me. Now I can tell why people think I'm him. It's like looking in a mirror, but with glasses and a tacky sense of style.

"I never actually liked him, idiot. Just using him for popularity. It's makes me look good if people think I actually care about the charity cases." He states nonchalantly, making my blood boil. I get up and storm off to the bathroom as well, hoping to make Will feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I figured out how to update on my phone so I will be updating regularly rather than taking a break.


	10. Chapter 10

*Mike's POV*

I storm off into the bathroom, and when I enter, only one of the stalls is occupied. I don't hear crying, but I know it's Will in there. I walk over to the stall and knock gently. "Will?" No noise comes from the other side. "It's Mike, can I come in?" The door unlocks and swings open swiftly, making me almost fall over.

I walk in and shut the stall door, locking it behind me. He takes his seat on the floor again, and I sit opposite him. "Hey, are you okay?" He nods and takes my had, writing quickly on it. It hurts a little, because the pen isn't very good at writing on skin so he has to press hard on my hand to get it to work.

When he's done he pulls his hand away and clicks the pen, shoving it in his hoodie pocket. That's something else that's happened over the past month as well. He's starting wearing hoodies rather than long sleeve shirts or sweaters. Really baggy hoodies too. As though he's trying to cover himself, like he's self conscious. I look down at my hand, reading what he's written.

_ I never really liked him, anyway. I was just trying to get over someone. Didn't work, though. _

Someone else? Who though? Probably Lucas. Will seemed really upset when Lucas broke up with him. Although last time I checked, they're still friends. He must have blamed it all on me. I don't mind, I mean, it was my fault. I let him kiss me at the party.

I look up at Will. "You sure?" He nods and smiles at me, sending me a thumbs up. I smile back and at that moment the bell rings, signaling lunch is over. We get up and leave the bathroom, parting ways and walking to our next class.

*Will's POV*

After school I walk home. Luckily it's warmer now than last month, there's no more snow. And the new hoodies I have that Richie bought me are really warm. He didn't buy me a coat or anything, just hoodies. He said those are cooler or something. I really only wear them because they're a bit big and cover up my body. I don't like people being able to see my body, I'm self conscious if you couldn't tell.

Walking into the house, I wave to mom and assure her I had a good day. She never knew I was dating Richie in the first place, so luckily I won't have to tell her we broke up. She was heartbroken when Lucas and I broke up, but I could tell it was an act. She really wants Mike and I to date and get married and have kids. She thinks we're perfect together.

I go to my room and do my homework quickly, but still have a bit of trouble. It's history, which I always have a bit of trouble with. Ben is a huge history nerd, though, so maybe I could ask him to tutor me. It's not that I don't understand what's being taught, it's just that I can't retain the information. At all. It's just so boring! Like when am I going to need to know about the Civil War?

Halfway through, mom calls me for dinner. Sighing, I get up and write her a note, saying I'm not hungry, (Even though I am), and walking into the kitchen. I shove the note in her hand and she reads it, eyeing me skeptically. "Are you sure? You didn't eat breakfast either." I nod, but she disregards it and starts feeling my forehead. "Are you getting sick? You're always hungry." I shake my head and she sighs before taking her hand off my forehead. "Well if you're sure." I smile at her and walk off to my room.

I continue my homework, slowly but surely finishing it. When I'm done I put everything away and walk into the bathroom to take a shower. I quickly shower and change into my pajamas before walking back into my room.

I turn off the light and lay down, falling asleep quickly. Images of Mike swim through my head all night.


	11. Chapter 11

*Will's POV*

The next day after school I walk through the door, listening to music from the Walkman Richie got me two weeks ago. All day today he had been flirting with Eddie, meaning he was in a bad mood all day. He thought Richie was annoying, and I can't blame him. Richie can be annoying at times, but underneath all that he's actually an okay guy.

"Will," Mom calls from the living room. I take off my headphones, pausing my music, and turn to her. "C'mere." I walk over there and sit down next to her. "Jonathan's here visiting, he's waiting in your room." I nod and she continues. "We're going to be having guests over for dinner, so make sure to wear some nice clothes, okay?" I nod and she smiles, kissing me on the forehead. "Okay, go do your homework and get ready, okay?" Nodding, I stand up and walk to my room.

Why is mom having guests over? And who are they? From my knowledge the only people mom had made friends with were my friends moms. I guess she found a new friend or something.

I walk into my room and Jonathan is sitting on my bed, holding a cassette tape. There's a boy with him. He has brown hair, and he's resting his head on Jonathan's shoulder. Jonathan's head shoots up to look at me when the door creaks open, and the boy quickly pulls his head off Jonathan's shoulder. They both smile at me and I reciprocate.

"Hey, Will!" Jonathan exclaims, walking over and hugging me. When he pulls away I wave at him. "Still not talking?" I shake my head, making him sigh. "I miss hearing your voice, Will. Are you ever going to talk again?" I shrug and he sits back down on the bed. I drop my backpack on the floor next to the door and point at the boy with Jonathan, making Jonathan realize he never introduced us.

"Will, this is Steve my... friend." Steve waves and I wave back shyly, shooting Jonathan a skeptical look. He hesitated before saying friend, and I could see the hurt in both of their eyes when he said it, so they must be dating.

Walking over, I grab Jonathan's hand and take a pen out of my hoodie pocket, quickly writing _ I know you're dating, and it's okay. _ On it before placing the pen back in my pocket. They both read it quickly and look up at me, panic evident in their faces. I smile reassuringly at them. "Are you sure?" I nod. "Are you gay too?" I nod again and they immediately calm down.

You're probably wondering why Jonathan doesn't know this. Well when he turned 16 he moved out because legally, he was allowed to. Meaning he was out of the house by the time dad walked in on me kissing Tyler. In fact, I don't think Jonathan and mom had talked before we moved here.

"Is mom supportive?" Smiling, I nod and take my homework out of my backpack. Jonathan smiles as well. "That's good." I nod and walk over to my desk, starting my homework. As I work, we talk a little, obviously not really talking on my part. It took a little bit for Steve to warm up, but once he did we actually got along pretty well.

Once I was done with my homework I place it back in my backpack and walk over to my closet. Mom said to dress nicely, so I grab one of my nicer sweaters and nicer pairs of jeans. Jonathan and Steve leave so I can change and brush my hair quickly.

As soon as I'm done, there's a knock at the front door and I hear Jonathan answer it, greeting whoever's here. There's a knock at my door, and a "The guests are here." From the other side. Sighing, I walk over to the door and open it before walking out and making my way to the kitchen. I stop in my tracks when I see who's sitting there.

Jane.

She looks up at me, shooting me a death glare that nobody else catches before looking back down at the table. Mom walks over to me, smiling. "Will, sit down. I made a really nice dinner for us. And there's someone I'd like you to meet." I nod and sit down in my seat, which happens to be right next to where Jane is seated.

Mom sits down as well and starts to speak. "Everyone, this is Jim Hopper and his daughter Jane." We all greet them, obviously I just wave. "So mom, why is he here? Not to be rude or anything, it's just you're not really one to invite people over for dinner." She smiles and nods. "That's true. We actually have an announcement to make." We all look at her expectantly. "Hopper and I are dating!"

I put a smile on my face, trying to be happy. It's just difficult because Jane is Hopper's daughter and I don't think either of us could handle being related, even if it's not by blood. Jane seems to be thinking the same thing, because she's smiling too, but it seems fake, over-exaggerated. Jonathan and Steve seem like the only ones that are genuinely happy about this. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am too, it's just, I don't want to be related to Jane. That thought is what's bringing my mood down.

Throughout dinner, Jane is the only one not really making conversation (Other than me, duh!) and Hopper seems a bit thrown off by it, but not enough to throw off the happy mood that's been lingering since their announcement.

After dinner, we all say bye to Jane and Hopper. I follow Jonathan and Steve into the living room and help them set up the pullout couch, placing pillows and blankets on it. "Night Will." They both say as I walk away. I turn around to face them and wave to them before walking into my room. I throw on some pajamas and go to bed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying something new with this chapter. Rather than taking place over the course of a day, this is going to take place over the course of a week during lunch. This is probably going to be the only chapter I do this with, and it's a bit weird, but it's the only way I can think of expressing what I want to how I want to, so bare with me please. Also, don't worry, I didn't forget about this story, it was just difficult to post while I was visiting my grandma at the hospital. My schedule will be back to normal soon.

*Will's POV*

_ Monday, March 14, 1988 _

I'm sitting in lunch, and everything is normal. Or as normal as it can be. Richie has started sitting with the 'losers' at lunch, stating that being a loser is worth it if he can hang out with Eddie. So, like usual, Richie is flirting with Eddie, ultimately making him very irritated, Dustin is just sitting there, eating his chocolate pudding, Mike is making conversation with me, and Stan is chatting with Bill. From what I've seen, Stan, Mike Hanlon, and Bill are dating. Only Stan and Bill show it at school though, because Mike Hanlon is popular.

"Could you please shut the fuck up?!" Eddie yells to Richie across the table. "Why don't you make me?" Richie snarkily replies, leaning in as if to kiss Eddie. He pushes Richie away before getting up and walking away, grumbling under his breath. "Now look what you've done fucknut, you made him run off." Richie says, turning to Stan. "I did no such thing, you were being an annoying little asshole, Richard. Why are you even hanging out with us? I though you were 'too cool' for us or something?" Richie shrugs. "I like to spend time with Eds." Stan rolls his eyes. "Well he clearly doesn't like spending time with you, dickwad." Stan states, going back to his conversation with Bill.

Mike continues conversing with me until the bell for lunch to end rings. We get up, waving goodbye to each other, and walk off to class.

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_ Tuesday, March 15, 1988 _

Today I was just sitting at lunch, not eating, as usual. I'm trying to lose weight because I feel like I'm too fat. That's why I wear those hoodies, and I've started wearing sweatpants, too. I'm wearing baggy clothes so people can't see how fat I am.

"Yo what's up losers?" Richie exclaims as he takes his seat next to me, as usual. Eddie groans and throws his head down on the table, Stan rolls his eyes, and Ben sighs. It's so quiet you don't really notice it, but I see it rather than hear it. "I'm not in the mood today, Richie." Eddie murmurs. "What, you on your period or something?" Eddie groans and slams his head on the table a few times, making me cringe. That's definitely gonna leave a bruise at the very least.

"No, dickhead, my mom fucking yelled at me about being gay so I ran out and now I have no idea if I can go home after school so I've been trying to think about where the hell I could go with no money." He states, sighing and looking at Richie. He looks exhausted to be totally honest. I take his hand and my pen, coming up with an idea. I quickly write _ You could stay with me _ on his hand. He reads it and smiles at me. "Thank you Will, but are you sure?" I nod and his smile grows. "Thanks." I smile back and look down at the table, zoning out a little.

Soon there's the loud clink of a tray across from me. I look up and see it's Mike Hanlon. Looks like the popular people are coming over here, thanks to Richie. I'm okay with it until Jane comes over here. I'm not exactly looking forward to that. She still doesn't like me for some reason, and I have no idea why. I mean, I haven't done anything to her.

Mike Hanlon grabs Stan's hand under the table. "Hey babe." He whispers in Stan's ear. I sigh. I just want someone to love me and treat me like that. But that'll never happen. I'm a fuck up. None of my previous relationships have been real. When I was with Lucas I was trying to get over Mike Wheeler, which didn't work. When I was with Richie, I was hoping to get over Mike Wheeler still, which still didn't work.

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_ Wednesday, March 16, 1988 _

"Will, aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten in days." Eddie points out. I shake my head and smile at him. He looks at me skeptically, but his attention is taken away from me by none other than Trashmouth Tozier.

"Daddy Richie is in the house!" He yells, sitting down and dropping his tray on the table with a loud clink. I cringe at how loud it is. As I stated before, I've never liked loud noises, especially after my dad started yelling at me.

A familiar redhead sits down next to Richie. Beverly Marsh. Unlike Richie, the smell of cigarettes don't follow her everywhere even though she smokes a lot. When Richie enters a room you can immediately smell the strawberries and cigarettes scent that seems to follow him everywhere. It oddly works together, to be totally honest.

"Hey guys!" Beverly greets us, smiling widely. Despite the rumors of her being a slut, she manages to stay positive and she's super popular. Every guy thinks she's irresistible, and I can't blame them. She always smells like vanilla, and the sun always manages to hit her ginger hair perfectly, no matter the time of day. Her green eyes shine happily all the time. Honestly, if I wasn't gay, I would have a huge crush on her.

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_ Thursday, March 17, 1988 _

Mike Wheeler is the last one to sit down at the table today, plopping two trays of food down rather than one. He shoves one in front of me. "I heard from Eddie you're not eating at all, so eat, now." I shake my head and shove the tray back in his direction. "Yes, Will." The tray is pushed back in my direction. This continues for a few minutes before I finally give up, sighing heavily. "Fine," I state, my voice raspy from not talking for so long.

Everybody turns to me. "Will, did you just talk?" I shyly nod. Mike smiles and hugs me. "Oh my God, you have no idea how long I've wanted to hear your voice for!" He exclaims, squeezing me tightly. "Okay, okay I get it now can you please let go? I can't breath." His grip loosens on me. "Shit, sorry. I was just really excited. I smile at him before looking back down at my tray.

Sighing, I take the greasy burger off the tray and bring it up to my mouth, slowly taking a bite. I cringe at the feeling of it, but swallow it nonetheless. I take a few more bites before setting the burger back on the tray, pushing it back in Mike's direction. "That's all I can eat, I'm sorry." He nods and takes the tray. "That's okay, just try to eat dinner tonight. Eddie will let me know if you don't." I nod and sigh.

I soon feel a new presence at the table and look up. It's Lucas. "Hey guys!" He greets us, waving. We wave back. "Hey, Lucas." I speak quietly. He looks at me, astonished. "You're talking!" I nod. "Hell yeah!" He exclaims, high fiving me. I smile. I never thought I mattered this much to this many people.

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_ Friday, March 18, 1988 _

The lunch table is more crowded than ever, with the popular kids and the losers all combined, minus two. I look over at the old popular table. Now, Jane and Max sit alone. They're holding hands, but not talking at all. It's kind of depressing.

Mike Wheeler sits down next to me, as always. "So did you try to eat yesterday?" I nod and he smiles, passing me a tray of disgusting lunch food. "That's good. Try to eat as much as you can today, okay?" I nod and start to eat.

I'm able to eat just about as much as yesterday, but Mike's okay with it. As long as I'm eating, he's happy. Baby steps is what he says.

Two sets of footsteps approach our table before stopping, and the whole table is thrown into silence. Max and Jane have joined us. Jane shyly waves. "Hey guys. I'm sorry I was acting like such a bitch before, I was just jealous that Will could be openly gay and date the people he wanted, while I couldn't. Or so I thought anyway. Now I'm with the girl I've wanted to be with since like 6th grade." She says, speaking shyly. I smile at her. "I forgive you, Jane. And I think the others do too, right?" They all nod and she smiles. Our friend group is complete.


	13. Chapter 13

*Will's POV*

_ Saturday, March 19, 1988 _

I sigh as I walk over to the phone, repeating the phone number written on the paper gripped tightly in my fist. I was getting ready to call Mike and invite him to have lunch or something today, like a date. Hopefully he'll say yes, but if not I guess it's just going to be extremely awkward between us.

I stand by the phone for a few minutes, memorizing the number. "Hey, Will! What are you doing?" My mom asks, walking over to me. "I'm gonna call Mike and ask him out, hopefully he'll say yes." I reply, making her smile. She walks over to me and kisses me on the head. "I'm sure he will."

She walks away and I turn back to the phone, taking it off the wall and dialing the numbers, making sure to press the correct ones. It rings a few times before there's a response.

"Hello?" It's Mrs.Wheeler. I take a deep breath before responding. "Hi, Mrs.Wheeler, it's Will. I was wondering if I could talk to Mike?" My heart is racing. "Yeah, lemme just go get him." There's silence for a minute before another voice responds. A boy's. Mike.

"Hey, Will?" His voice instantly triggers butterflies to erupt in my stomach and I smile a little. "Hey, Mike. I was wondering if you wanted to go out to lunch today?" There's a moment of silence. "Like a date?" I sigh nervously. "Um, yeah. L-like a date." There's more silence again, making me feel like I've messed up. I insantly try to fix whatever I could've done. "It's okay if you don't want-" I'm cut off by him finally responding. "Yeah, that sounds good. How about the diner at the edge of town at 12:30?" A smile takes place on my face once again. "Yeah, that's perfect. See you then." "See you then."

I place the phone back on the wall, sighing happily. Mom walks in. "I'm assuming he said yes from the huge smile on your face?" I nod and she smiles as well. "Well, what did I tell you? What time are you supposed to meet?" "12:30," I respond. She looks over at the clock and her eyes widen. "It's 11:00 right now, so you should probably go get ready." I look over at the clock as well. Seeing the time I instantly panic and run to my room to get ready.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I arrive at the diner at 12:20, seeing it's almost empty. I take a seat over in a booth in the back, the same booth where the fight happened a month ago. I look over the menu while I wait, and soon a waitress walks over. She's young, a girl that I recognize. She has brown straight hair and blue eyes that shine brightly and happily. Her lips shine with lip gloss. Her name is Ashley or something? I don't really know.

"Are you ready to order?" I look over at the clock, seeing it's 12:25. "Um, can I have a few minutes? I'm waiting on someone." She nods and walks away. I soon hear the bell overhead jingle and see Mike standing in the doorway. He's wearing a T-shirt and jeans. He scans the diner before landing eyes on me in the back. Smiling, he walks over and slides in across from me.

"You look nice." He complements, making me blush slightly. I look down at my outfit, a sweater and jeans, the usual. "Thanks, so do you." His cheeks glow a slight shade of red and he smiles before looking down at the menu.

The waitress walks over again. "Are you two ready to order?" Mike nods and orders a burger with coke, and I order a burger with a strawberry milkshake. She writes our orders down before walking away again.

We sit and talk for a little bit until our food arrives. The waitress sets our foot and drinks in front of us, smiling. "Enjoy your food," She slips a piece of paper in front of Mike. "And call me." She's about to walk away but Mike stops her. "Excuse me," She stops and turns around, looking at him. He hands the paper back to her. "I'm not interested, sorry." She furrows her eyebrows and looks between the two of us before realization washes over her. She smiles at us and takes the paper back, smiling. "That's perfectly fine, I'm happy for you two. Seriously. I'm not like the other homophobic assholes in this town. Enjoy your date." She says, walking away.

I'm grateful that she didn't lash out at us like most other people would have done, kicking us out or harming us in some way. Mike seems grateful about it too. We eat our food, making small talk as we do so.

When we're done the girl comes back and takes our food, handing us the check. Mike quickly takes it before I can, reading how much it is and handing her the money, earning many protests from me. "Have a nice day." She says, smiling as she grabs the check from Mike.

We leave the diner and get into Mike's car. "You didn't have to do that, I could have paid!" Mike chuckles and starts the car, backing out of his parking place. "Well, you can pay for the next date, okay?" I sigh and nod, looking out the window. "Hey Mike, where are we going?" He smiles. "You'll see." I nod and look back out the window.

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We soon turn onto a dirt road that ends right before where the woods start. "Mike, why are we at the woods?" He smiles at me, unbuckling his seat belt. "You'll see. Now come on." He gets out of the car and I quickly follow.

He leads me down rocky path through the woods, holding my hand. My face and my hand are burning from the contact. I trip over a rock and almost fall, but luckily he catches me. "Be careful." He says in a sweet, caring tone, making me smile.

We soon arrive in a meadow. It's a circular meadow, surrounded by trees. Mike lets go of my hand and walks right into the middle of it before laying down. He notices I don't follow and sits up, waving me over. "Come on, we're gonna cloud gaze!" I laugh and sit next to him, slowly lowering myself until I'm laying down. He lays down once more as well, grabbing my hand again. My cheeks burn even more and butterflies flutter in my stomach.

"I used to come here all the time, but I stopped like a year ago." I turn to him, staring at the side of his face. "Why?" He turns to face me as well and shrugs. "I dunno, just outgrew it I guess. I always thought it was beautiful though, which is why I brought you here. So beauty can admire beauty." I smile and blush even more, making me turn away.

"I'm not beautiful, Mike." I murmur. He grabs my chin gently, turning my head to look at him again. "Of course you are, you're so beautiful. Those beautiful brown eyes, and that soft brunette hair, too many things to count." He complements, brushing a piece of hair out of my face. "I think you're beautiful too, y'know." He shakes his head. "No, I'm not." I lean over and kiss him on one of his freckle covered cheeks.

"You're so beautiful, Mike. Those cheeks that are covered with freckles, like a galaxy, and your soft curly hair, your soft lips, so many things." He smiles at me and blushes bright red. We stare into each others eyes for a minute before slowly leaning in. We're only centimeters apart, our lips brushing against each others. Both of us are too nervous to close the gap, until finally, he leans in and his slightly chapped lips meet mine.


	14. Chapter 14

*Mike's POV*

_ Saturday, April 23, 1988 _

It's a month later. Will and I have gone on a few more dates, and today I was gonna ask him to be my boyfriend. I'm really anxious. I barely slept last night, and as a result, there are dark circles under my eyes and I look lifeless. I've been shaking all day as a result of the anxiety, and my mom keeps asking if I'm okay. None of my family know that I'm bi, so I can't tell them why I'm so anxious.

I'm sitting on my bed, already dressed for our date even if I don't have to leave for another hour. There's a knock at my door, making me look up from where my hands are tightly clasped on my lap to the door. "Come in," I reply, and the door opens. Mom's standing there, smiling a little. "Hey, hon." She walks in, shutting the door behind her, and sits down next to me.

She grabs one of my hands, with some struggle because of how tightly clasped they are. "What's wrong, baby? You can always talk to me. I promise." I shake my head. "Nothing's wrong, mom." She sighs and places her free hand on my cheek, turning my head so I'm looking at her. "There's clearly something wrong. What is it?" I shake my head again. "There's nothing wrong, I promise." She sighs again and lets go of my hand, walking over to my door.

"Well, whenever you want to talk, I'm here, and you can always tell me anything, I won't be mad, or dissapointed, and I will always love you, okay?" I nod and she smiles at me before walking out the door. She makes sure to shut it behind her.

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Soon, it's time for me to leave. We're going to the diner like we do everytime we go out, because there's not a lot to do in such a small town. After the diner I'm gonna take him to the meadow, which we haven't been back to since our first date, and that's where I'm gonna ask him the big question. That's where I'm gonna ask him to be my boyfriend.

I go downstairs, saying bye to my family before walking out, locking the door behind me and walking to me car. I buckle up and drive to the diner.

Will's already there, as usual, and I go over there. Our food is already there. By now he's memorized my order so he always orders for me.

He smiles at me when I sit down, but it fades quickly when he notices how shitty I look. "Hey, what's wrong?" I shake my head and grab my coke, taking a sip of it. He grabs my hand where it's resting on the table. "Mike, please tell me." I shake my head again. He sighs and looks down at his food. He starts to eat, but I don't. He notices and places his burger back on the plate. "Please eat?" I sigh and start to eat, but it's difficult with all the nerves in my stomach.

Soon we finish and pay, and we go out to my car. He looks out the window, but when I pass the turnoff for his house he looks over at me. "Mike, where are we going?" I smile and glance at him. "The meadow, I have something I wanna tell you, and I think there is the best place for it." He smiles as well and turns back to the window. "Okay,"

We soon arrive at the edge of the woods, getting out of the car and quickly walking to the meadow. Luckily he doesn't trip this time. When we get there I drag him into the middle of the meadow, but don't lay down on the ground to cloud gaze like last time.

I grab both of his hands and face him. "Mike?" I smile at him. "Will, you are amazing. You're the best person I've ever met, and deciding to be friends with you was the best thing I've ever done." He's smiling now, and looking directly into my eyes. "I know it might be a bit early for this, but I love you. I know people might say that we're just two queers, or that we're too young, so we can't know what love is, but I don't care. I love you. I do. No matter what people say. So, will you be my boyfriend?" His smile grows, and he has tears in his eyes.

"Of course, Mike." He replies, making me smile. My nerves wear off, and he lets go off my hand, wrapping his arms around my neck and leaning up to kiss me passionately. I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss back, bending down a little so he doesn't have to struggle as much.

We pull away for air, smiling. "I love you too." He says, happy tears drifting down his face. A few tears roll down mine as well. I know this may seem dramatic, but with how things are going, this may be the closest we'll get to being married, so let us be happy.

We stay there for a little longer, gazing up at the clouds and talking. It feels nice to finally be dating him. Neither of us stopped smiling the entire time we were there.

"Hey, Will?" He looks over at me. It was starting to get dark now, and the sunset illuminated his face perfectly. "I want you to meet my parents. Tomorrow. I haven't come out to them yet, but I want to tomorrow at dinner, and I want you to be there when I do." He smiles and nods, grabbing my hand. "Okay, sure. That's perfectly fine with me."

We soon walk back to the car and drive home, holding hands the whole way. This time, I walk him up to his door and I'm properly introduced to his mom. She seems very happy that we're finally dating, saying something like "I always knew it was going to happen!" I like her. She's nice, and funny. And I'm pretty sure she likes me too. I knew we had met before, but it was awkward then and there wasn't very much talking then.

That night I drive home, feeling a lot better than this morning. Mom notices and smiles, not questioning it. I guess she's just happy I'm feeling better.


	15. Chapter 15

*Will's POV*

_ Sunday, April 24, 1988 _

I'm standing in front of my closet, picking out various clothes before placing them back. Actually, it's more like mine and Eddie's closet, but that's besides the point. Eddie sighs from behind me as I pick out the same shirt for the fifth time. It was 4:00, and I had to be at Mike's for dinner at 5:30. 

"Honestly, Will. You need to just pick out a shirt, it's not that difficult." I turn around to look at him, laying on his bed on his stomach, painting his nails pink. "Well if it's so easy, then you come pick one out. Nothing short sleeved though." He glares at me. "I'm doing my nails! Just go with that striped one you had out just a minute ago." I place the green shirt I was holding back into the closet and take out a red striped one. "This one?" He glances up from his nails again and nods. "That's the one." I smile at him and grab the pair of jeans sitting on my bed, walking into the bathroom across the hall.

I lock the door behind me and quickly get dressed, brushing my hair and making sure to pull the sleeves of the shirt down over the palms of my hands. Even though my self harm scars don't go that close to my hand, I'm still anxious about it. Like what if somebody saw it? I would be fucked.

I had managed to stop a month ago, when Mike and I started going out. I even threw all the razor blades away. I hadn't even had temptations since then. Okay, that's a lie. Maybe I thought about it once or twice, but I haven't actually harmed myself anymore. Eddie's the only person that knows, and I didn't even plan to tell him. I was taking a nap and I guess my sleeve rode up on my arm, and he saw them.

He promised not to tell anyone as long as I stopped, and I reassured him that I already had. He hasn't brought it up since, but sometimes he'll ask me if I'm doing okay, or if there's anything I need to talk about. It made me realize how much my friends actually care about me.

After getting dressed and brushing my hair, I go back to mine and Eddie's room, and he waves me over. "I'm gonna paint your nails. Choose a color." I pick yellow and he quickly paints them. "I would do your makeup too, but you don't want to immediately out yourself to them as soon as you see them, so just lip gloss." I nod and he hands a watermelon flavored one to me. "You can keep it, obviously." I nod and put it on quickly in the full length mirror hanging in my room.

He walks up behind me, patting me on the shoulder. "You look great." I smile at him and he reciprocates it. Sighing, I look at the clock to see it's 5:00. I tell mom and Eddie bye and then leave, quickly walking to Mike's house.

I pace outside for a few minutes before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. Mike answers, eyes wide as he scans over me. "Well, are you gonna let me in or are you gonna just stand there all night?" His cheeks turn bright red as he moves out of the way, letting me in. "You look nice." He complements, making me blush slightly. I try not to let it affect me too much so his parents don't notice.

Mrs. Wheeler walks out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishrag. She's wearing a flour covered apron over her dress. She smiles at me and walks over. "It's nice to see you, Will. Dinner will be ready in a minute. I don't know if Mike told you, but we're having chicken, and his older sister is visiting from college tonight so I hope that's okay." I smile and nod at her. "Of course it's okay, Mrs. Wheeler." She smiles back. "Please, call me Karen. You two can help me set the table if you'd like." We nod and follow her into the dining room.

After setting the table, dinner is set in the middle and plates are made. She soon calls everyone in for dinner, and we all sit. Mr. Wheeler sits at one end of the table, Karen on the other. Holly, Mike's younger sister, sits next to Karen, and Nancy, his older sister, sits next to Holly. Mike sits across from Nancy and I sit next to him, across from Holly. Dinner is fairly quiet, the occasional conversation happening. 

About halfway through, Mike sets down his fork, making a clattering noise. Everyone turns to look at him. "I um, h-have something to tell you guys." I can practically feel the nerves radiating off him, so I grab his hand under the table reassuringly. He seems to calm a little bit from that, but not a lot. "Well, what is it?" Nancy asks, a hint of attitude in her voice. "Nancy!" Karen scolds from the end of the table, shooting a warning look at her. She raises her hands in surrender and continues eating.

Karen looks back at Mike, a reassuring look on her face. "What is it honey?" He takes a deep breath and I squeeze his hand a little, reassuring him that I'm still there. "I'm bisexual." He breathes out quickly. Ted shoots his head up from his chicken immediately, glaring at him. "So you're a little fag?" He gets up, pushing his chair backwards. Karen runs over, grabbing his arm. "Ted, calm down." He rips his arm from her grip and walks over to Mike, grabbing his shirt collar.

He forces him out of his chair and pushes him against the wall, punching him a few times. We all yell at him to stop, and Holly's crying. "Dad, stop!" Nancy yells, but he just continues. Karen walks over, attempting to rip Ted away. "Stop!" She yells, ripping him away. I run over to Mike quickly, and he leans on me, basically putting his whole body weight on me. I can barely hold him, up but I don't mind.

Nancy seems to notice my struggle, because she walks over and helps me. "Get the hell out of my house, and don't come back, understand me?!" Karen yells from the hallway, soon the sound of a door slamming echoes through the house. Holly's still crying, and Karen comes back and comforts her. Nancy and I take Mike up to his room, and she goes and gets the first aid supplies from the bathroom.

I clean the blood off of Mike's face, placing bandages with ointment on the cuts on his face. One above his eyebrow, one next to his other eyebrow, and one on his lip. He also had a black eye, but there's not very much we can do about that other than give him an ice pack. 

He holds the ice pack against his eye as I pack up the first aid supplies and Karen comes in. Nancy takes the first aid stuff back to the bathroom before walking back in and sitting at the desk. I sit down next to Mike, and Karen stands in the middle of the room.

We're all looking at her as she speaks. "I got Holly put to bed while you guys helped Mike. Ted won't be coming back. I'm sorry about this, guys." Nancy shakes her head and smiles. "You don't have to apologize, mom. It's not your fault, it's dad's." Karen smiles back at her. "I also have a few questions for you two." She says, pointing to Mike and I.

"Are you guys together?" Nancy moves to leave, but I stop her. "Nancy, you don't need to leave, and yes, we are." Nancy lowers herself back into the chair at Mike's desk. "How long have you two been together, and how long have you known you liked boys?" Mike answers first. "We got together yesterday, but we've been going on dates for a month now and our first kiss together was two months ago. I knew I liked boys as soon as Will came to school. I had never been interested in boys before him." Karen nods and turns to me.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long have you known?" I smile at her. "I don't mind you asking, and I've known since like, maybe fourth or fifth grade?" Karen nods. "Well, I'm very happy for you two." She goes to leave but Nancy stops her. "Wait, mom. I have to tell you something, too." She turns to look at Nancy. "I'm a lesbian. I have a girlfriend, actually." Karen's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Really?" Nancy nods. "Remember Robin?" Karen nods. "We've been dating since junior year of high school." Nancy admits, making Karen smile and hug her. "I'm proud of you." She pulls away from the hug.

"I'm proud of both of you."

And with that, she leaves.


	16. Chapter 16

*Will's POV*

_ Wednesday, June 1, 2005 _

I stand in the kitchen, finishing up dinner as I wait for Mike to get home. It's 5:30 and he's usually home by now so he should be here soon.

I hear the front door of our apartment unlock and turn around to watch my beautiful husband walk through the door. That's right, husband.

We got married three years ago, in the Netherlands. They legalized same sex marriage in 2001, and as soon as we heard that, we saved up to fly there and have a nice wedding.

It wasn't anything huge, just something simple with our close family and friends. Richie and Eddie got married there a year later, and Dustin and Lucas are planning on getting married there in a month. Beverly and Ben got married as soon as they graduated college and currently have two children, and they're expecting another one.

Max and Jane are dating and live in New York, in the apartment next to Mike and I. As for Stan, Mike, and Bill, they all live in a nice house in Florida. They can't get married because there's three of them, and unfortunately that's not legal right now, but hopefully it will be in the future. They love each other, I can tell.

Ashley, the waitress from the diner, later became a lesbian and is dating a girl named Abby, who's very nice. Nancy and Robin are still going strong, living in California, near Richie and Eddie. And finally, Jonathan and Steve. They actually got into a relationship with Billy, Max's older brother, as well, and they all live in Hawkins still.

Unfortunately, mom's fantasy of Mike and I having kids never came true, as it's not legal for same sex couples to adopt. We do have a dog, though. It's a chihuahua named Sophie. She's annoying and loud, but we love her.

As soon as Mike walks through the door, Sophie comes running up to him, jumping on him and yipping at him. He smiles and walks over to our bedroom, changing into some comfier clothes before coming back out.

He walks over and kisses me gently. We pull away, smiling, just like our first kiss. "I missed you." He whispers. "I missed you more." I respond, making his smile grow. "Not possible." I laugh and finish dinner, taking it into the living room where we eat.

He turns on the tv and we eat our spaghetti, making small talk and complaining about the idiots at work.

After we finish I take the plates back into the kitchen, washing them quickly and putting them back where they go. I feel two hands on my waist and turn around, being faced with Mike. "I love you so much." I smile and run my hands through his hair. "I love you even more." He smiles and kisses me passionately. As always, we pull away smiling.

No matter how many times we kiss, I'll always get the butterflies in my stomach, my heart will always pound, and it'll always make me smile. We've been through a lot together. We even somehow managed to get through colleges that are twelve hours away from each other.

No matter what happens, we always come back to each other. Because we love each other. No matter what people say or do, that will never stop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, and that is the end of Mute! I will be publishing my first chapter of a Reddie book sometime today, so if you're interested in Reddie I just wanted to let you know.


End file.
